Vaccine Hesitancy

[Pappy13]

I'm just not willing to give up on that.  85% is high, but we've done this before, throughout history again and again.

Herd immunity also can come through exposure.  It really depends on how the virus behaves.  Between people eager to get vaccinated, those that do it begrungingly because it's socially/financially, those that get COVID and build antibodies, or kids being sent into the school system, I think we can get to pretty much any number we need over time.

That would depend upon if there's a vaccine for kids which is about 24% of the population in the US I believe. If not, 85% is impossible unless you are just gonna have them all exposed to the virus itself and that ain't gonna happen.

[CF DolFan]

Interesting note as I was driving home today ... I pass by kids all day long going and coming form school as well as being in school. Very few, if any, are wearing masks anymore.  It's been going on for quite a while now but I didn't really catch it til today.

[Fau Teixeira]

Outdoor transmission seems to be very low anyways .. it's indoors that people have to be extra careful about.

[Dave Gray]

I fear that we get complacent.  I look at the numbers every day and it's like a drip-drip-drip of dead people.  It's like 50-80 per day in Florida...it's not a shocking number anymore, but it's pretty consistent.  I wonder if we get a little lower, like 20 per day, that we just don't care anymore and that's just life from now on.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

I was talking to a coworker today.  She won't get vax because of the "risks" involved and the potential of injecting poison into her system. She is a smoker.  While the vaccine has some risks, it is undeniable that the risks of smoking far exceeds any risk from the vax and she is already injecting poison into her system multiple times a day.

[pondwater]

I was talking to a coworker today.  She won't get vax because of the "risks" involved and the potential of injecting poison into her system. She is a smoker.  While the vaccine has some risks, it is undeniable that the risks of smoking far exceeds any risk from the vax and she is already injecting poison into her system multiple times a day.

Can't simply not wanting to be vaccinated be good enough? Does the reason even matter? She does have a choice and if she's wrong her choice may wind up costing her.

[Fau Teixeira]

Can't simply not wanting to be vaccinated be good enough? Does the reason even matter? She does have a choice and if she's wrong her choice may wind up costing her.

Yes, simply not wanting to be vaccinated is good enough. Just don't complain when you can't do some things that vaccinated people can .. them's the breaks.

[ArtieChokePhin]

Interesting note as I was driving home today ... I pass by kids all day long going and coming form school as well as being in school. Very few, if any, are wearing masks anymore.  It's been going on for quite a while now but I didn't really catch it til today.

Governor Desantis has now made mask mandates illegal in the state of Florida.

[Spider-Dan]

Governor Desantis has now made mask mandates illegal in the state of Florida.

Illegal for governments, but not businesses; businesses may still require customers to wear a mask (for now).

[Spider-Dan]

I've had quite a few friends develop full blown COVID symptoms after getting it.

I haven't heard of a single person in the world who has had respiratory problems (the primary and deadliest COVID symptom) from a COVID vaccine.  Is that what you're talking about when you say "full blown COVID symptoms"?

What difference does it make??   If I don't have the vaccine but you do, you're safe around me weather I have COVID or not.

The longer that unvaccinated people are catching COVID, the more mutated strains will develop.  This potentially compromises the effectiveness of the existing vaccines.  A fully vaccinated society cuts down on the number of victims where COVID strains can mutate, and if/when those mutated strains do develop, it makes it harder for them to find another victim to infect and continue spreading.

[masterfins]

Society likely won't even need herd immunity if vaccination eliminates serious symptoms.  It will literally be "the flu, bro."

And this is really what it's all about, reducing hospitalizations and deaths.  No different than the regular flu, or pneumonia, or other illnesses you can never completely eliminate deaths occurring.

And I agree with Dave that contracting the illness and developing anti-bodies to fight it the normal way increases the move towards herd immunity.  There is a great unknown out there as to how many individuals have contracted the illness and dealt with it on a personal level without getting tested and notifying health authorities.  Or for that matter people that were asymptomatic.  I know of several people that believe they had it and quarantined without ever being tested, and now they are not hurrying to get vaccinated.

IMO trying to force vaccinations on people is the wrong way to go, it just pushes them more into the anti-vax camp.

[CF DolFan]

I know of several people that believe they had it and quarantined without ever being tested, and now they are not hurrying to get vaccinated.

Me too. I don't think anyone in my family would have gotten tested had we of not had to go into the hospital. My daughter who got sick but bounced back in a few days was never tested.  There is no doubt the number of infected is much, much, larger than has been reported.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Me too. I don't think anyone in may family would have gotten tested had we of not had to go into the hospital. My daughter who got sick but bounced back in a few days was never tested.  There is no doubt the number of infected is much, much, larger than has been reported.

I hope you are right because my back of the envelope calculation says we need ~1/2 of all nonvaxed people to get sick to reach herd immunity.

[Pappy13]

I hope you are right because my back of the envelope calculation says we need ~1/2 of all nonvaxed people to get sick to reach herd immunity.

I think you can forget herd immunity. Even if they make the vaccine available to children which is very questionable at the moment, the odds of hitting herd immunity are shrinking and likely not attainable. A quick google search found these links...

Herd immunity might be impossible

Many Scientists think herd immunity may now be impossible

5 reasons why herd immunity is probably impossible

It's unlikely America will reach herd immunity, experts warn

[Fau Teixeira]

i don't know why you think a children's vaccine is impossible .. next week they'll likely open up the pfizer shot to 12 year olds and they're already doing studies on 5-11 year olds.

I expect by the fall we'll have public school vaccination requirements